Reviews
Artist:Kerri Watt Album: Neptune's Daughter
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Tracks: 18
Website: https://kerriwatt.com/
The two tracks that bookend this album reveal the huge range of moods and styles that Kerri Watts has incorporated into this album. From the full-on country-rock of "All The Worse For Me", which evokes shades of Shania Twain at the country end, and Joan Jett at the rock end, to the closing track, "I want to Sing For You" - a plaintive and heartfelt ballad with gentle guitar and piano accompaniment.
This is the first full-length release from Kerri Watt, and apparently it has taken some time to bring it to completion, having been mainly recorded in 2018. She is originally from Scotland but has spent the last few years travelling and it is clearly in the USA that her main musical inclinations found their natural home. That said, there is none of the overbearing swagger that some American acts project into their work. Kerri's approach is more subtle, emotive and reflective. The songs are well crafted and largely avoid the clichés and posturing that sometimes fill country-rock recordings. Her lyrics are original and often surprising - I particularly like the way she weaves her lyric around the rocking tune in "Chasing Aeroplanes". There are some fun sing-a-long choruses such as in "Band of Gold" that will be great at a live show.
The musicians that Kerri has recorded with are excellent, and the tightness of playing can be heard to to good effect in a track like the title track "Neptune's Daughter" which opens with an infectious piano riff before launching into a full good time rock anthem.
Through it all, is Kerri's top quality singing. She has an instantly likeable voice - melodic but very grounded - and she shows it great effect in all the different moods and tempos on the album. There are no unnecessary frills to her delivery, but she effortlessly stays pitch perfect always with an eye on delivering the lyric to its best advantage. She maintains a vocal honesty and integrity that allows occasional cadences of her native accent to come through. This helps to make this album not sound slavishly generic, and adds some very attractive touches to it.
"Neptune's Daughter" is an accomplished ,feel-good piece of work that really lets Kerri Watt show us what she can do. This is music that would work with large audiences and would also make a great companion accompaniment on a long drive. It would be interesting to see how these songs translate to smaller, more intimate venues with less reliance on a band.
Greg Hancock
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I Wanna Sing For You
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.